"Unfortunately this is a limitation of Windows 8 �?? it doesn't allow access to COM ports. This means that legacy applications that rely on this access will not work.�?� - awesome...
That's great to know, but I'm not sure it moves us any closer to a solution. It's already been established that devices that connect via "physical serial port, a virtual COM port bound to a GPS receiver via Bluetooth or USB, or a program COM port attached to a GPS intermediate driver on Windows Mobile devices (on Windows Mobile 5.0 & newer systems)" work fine, as they interact with the ESRI's GPS library in the expected fashion. The focus here (based on the original post) is these integrated devices that utilize direct calls to the Location API...We for one, bought the tablet because it has an internal reciever and the prospect of connecting anything external somewhat defeats the purpose...
Denise,My apologies in terms of wasting your time on this "problem". As it turns out this broadcom chip in my Lenovo does not acually have a true GPS function as you stated. It instead has a location determined through Wifi that only works while connected. I only determined this by leaving any wifi connectivity. I have the non-broadband version of the tablet. That said, Lenovo is pushing this tablet as having GPS with no qualifiers or explanations. I had a long conversation with Lenovo about the problem with the way they were stating their specifications. Needless to say I'm walking away unhappy. I think I should mention as well that the Dell has the same chipset and likely has the same problem with their terminology. The dell owners may be stuck as I am with a device that won't do what is claimed. Thanks for the investigation and sorry again about the confusion caused by Lenovo.
I don't know what chip your lenovo came with, but the BCM47511 which is in the Dell is true GPS. From Broadcom's website: "The BCM47511 is the latest generation of standalone GPS SoC solutions, adding GLONASS functionality, while remaining pin-compatible to the BCM4751 GPS SoC solution. The Broadcom® BCM47511 standalone GPS receiver and the Broadcom BCM2076 combo receiver with Bluetooth and an FM tuner feature dual constellation support of both GPS and GLONASS satellites. BCM47511 GPS receivers will have the ability to use an additional 21 GLONASS satellites currently (24 projected in the future), on top of the existing 30 U.S. GPS satellites, nearly doubling the number of satellites that can be used for navigation. In urban areas, many GPS satellites are blocked by buildings, so the additional 21 satellites offered by the GLONASS system will provide significant improvements in location performance and accuracy over currently available GPS receivers. The BCM47511 SoC solution is Broadcom's latest generation of standalone receiver, featuring both integrated GPS and GLONASS. Since it is pin-for-pin compatible with Broadcom's popular BCM4751 SoC solution, customers can quickly upgrade their products to include GLONASS navigation support."Speaking of which, I was digging through the driver from the Dell website and I noticed references to the BCM4751 and a driver called BcmGnssBus.sys which it says: BcmGnssBus.sys - ACPI/UART&GPIO Driver wrapper exposes ACPI/UART driver as COM22 for BcmGnss.dllWhich to me sounds promising, but unfortunately I can't get my hands on the tablet. The guys using it need it every day. So I can't mess around with it anymore.
...Speaking of which, I was digging through the driver from the Dell website and I noticed references to the BCM4751 and a driver called BcmGnssBus.sys which it says: BcmGnssBus.sys - ACPI/UART&GPIO Driver wrapper exposes ACPI/UART driver as COM22 for BcmGnss.dllWhich to me sounds promising, but unfortunately I can't get my hands on the tablet. The guys using it need it every day. So I can't mess around with it anymore.
I had the latitude 10 and I just sent them back and am ordering a lenovo to replace it. Hopefully those work better..
Its a problem with windows 8 and its API. ArcPad and Mobile need to grab a COM port in order to read the data. The Dell only lists a sensor for the GPS unit in the device manager where Lenovo actually lists a COM port. I was on the phone with denise from ESRI last week and the lenovo they are testing actually is working.
Where/how can we get the "Sierra Wireless" version of this machine?
Bill - you need to purchase the Mobile Broadband option with voice/data plan from wireless provider.Denise
Yea that's what I have on order, but I had never heard of the "Sierra Wireless" version and wondered if it was different than the one I had coming. Gave up on the Dell, hopefully this one will work out.
Bill - you need to purchase the Mobile Broadband option with voice/data plan from wireless provider.
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